Milk is sold in bags in Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes, but it could be approaching its expiry date. Part of the reason is changing consumer habits.
"Consumption of milk per capita has gone down every year over the last 30 years," says Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University. "Actually, it's gone down by more than 20 per cent since 2015."
While bagged milk is often cited as a unique Canadianism, it's actually not sold west of Ontario. Those who prefer it, however, say it's more cost efficient and some even believe it tastes better.
The plastic feels a bit like a heavy duty ziplock bag, or piping bag material, made as a tube (so strong shape, structurally) then flat sealed on both ends. Quite thick so not that easy to puncture by accident. Once in a while there’s one that leaks but they get removed at the grocery store by stockers, mostly. It’s easy to spot, it just looks flat and at worst (if the hole is on the bottom), there’s a liter and some of milk all over in their fridge.
Stores sell sturdy plastic jugs that the milk bags fit into snugly, so it basically pours like a pitcher. You just snip a small corner off the top of the bag once it's inserted into The jug. The jug lasts forever, though it does get funky over time with any dribbles of milk that make it between the bag and jug.
It happens, but not very often. I used to work dairy in a grocery store, so you’d see it, fairly often, but usually we the workers would catch it (because the bag would be leaking).
I’ve never seen a bag pop, or puncture outside of that.